when she takes off her mask (i saw a daughter)
by Avalonmists
Summary: Regina tries to regain her son's trust and help Emma with her magic. Storybrooke celebrates Halloween for the first time but a tragic event interrupts the evening. Solving the mystery will result a painful path for Regina. Set in s2 after Queen of Hearts and Emma and Mary Margaret coming back from the Enchanted Forest.
1. Chapter 1

In this world without magic, Regina was surprised to see how important magic was. All these days of celebration in the name of a religion to cover the days of an older one, when the world believed in magic. A different magic than the one she used to know and practice, but a powerful one nevertheless – powerful enough to scare a bunch of new believers. Those pagan days fascinated the former mayor because she was able to understand what motivated the people to believe in Mother Nature; their survival was in the balance.

She, herself, pursued magic for survival; her rage and hatred were killing her, and she had needed to channel it, and get her revenge. For a long time she had believed the illusion that she was in control, and that magic had all the answers. Nothing will erase what she's done, and she will always take responsibility for her acts as the Evil Queen. When Henry asked her not to use magic anymore, she realised magic had made her lose herself. She let magic take control. It became her, she couldn't live without it. Like a drug.

This was so cliché, Regina huffed, comparing magic to an addiction, but in her world, this was a notion that didn't exist. People did what they had to do, and if they ended up drunk at the end of each day, they were just considered drunk useless people. No shrink therapist to tell them they had a problem with alcohol, and that they could be helped. But here in Storybrooke, she had made Archie, and had given him degrees in psychology. A creation from her subconscious? Or perhaps, because the conscience of the cricket was stronger than the curse, his annoying nature had manifested itself in this new world? Whatever the reason, she now found herself in his office once a week to get rid of an addiction.

Now she was teaching Emma Swan magic. The irony of the situation was not lost on her, and she smiled bitterly. She lost her son to Miss Swan because of magic, but when the Sheriff came back from the Enchanted Forest with the revelation that she had magic in her, that she was made of magic, as being the product of True Love, she had turned to her, the Evil Queen, and asked for her help. Henry seconded this decision, pleading her to help Miss Swan, not only in the practice of magic but in the control of it. He asked her to prevent his birth mother from becoming the monster she herself was. She felt the iron of the demand piercing her heart.

But she accepted. She would do anything to get her son back, to be the beloved mother she was not such a long time ago. If he wanted her to stop using magic, she would, even if at the same time she had to teach magic to Emma bloody Swan. If he wanted her to get help in her path to redemption, she would get it, even if it meant to sit saying nothing in the cricket's office. Nothing relevant that is. But Archie seemed confident in her progress. He even thought that teaching magic without using it for herself would be a great way for her to get rid of her addiction. She arched an eyebrow in disbelief the first time he told her that, laughing in his face as if he'd lost his mind, and wondering if the competence of his fake degrees had reached its limits.

« Regina, teaching and practicing are two different things. You'll be going back to the basics of your magic with Emma, but you will use your skills with _her_ magic, not yours. You will be her guide in this task, you will be the one in control, and with her help, you will let go of your darkest habits.»

She had left his office conflicted that day.

The magical sessions started a few weeks before. The first one, apart from the awkwardness of the situation, had not been the catastrophe she'd imagined. Miss Swan had seen the Enchanted Forest, she had discovered a world that was real, and what she saw there scarred her more than she would admit. She certainly didn't say anything to her mother, Snow White, and her inability to call her anything but "Mary Margaret" showed enough of the state of distress the Sheriff was in. So to lighten the lessons, and to help Emma (yes, they were on a first-name basis now) in accepting her own Fairy Tale Land magic, she asked her about magic in her world.

Emma told her all she knew about Wiccan magic and druidic tradition; the "Earth worshippers," as the Sheriff called them, not really impressed by the spiritual aspects of the practice. In this world, magic didn't exist and people didn't believe in it, but Regina thought the opposite and she was drawn to one of the old celebrations in particular: Samhain.

This notion of a transition between the light season and the dark season, a period that was out of time and when the lines between worlds were so thin that anything was possible, found an echo in Regina's mind. And she found quite amusing that the festive evolution of Samhain had become Halloween. She wasn't Mayor anymore, but she thought Storybrooke needed an event that would reunite the whole city — an event from two worlds, like its inhabitants.

She wouldn't submit the idea, of course. She was tolerated since Emma and Mary Margaret came back from the Enchanted Forest, and only because Henry and the Sheriff insisted, explaining that she was saving their lives at the well, trying to cancel the spell.

«You're telling me the kids in Storybrooke never celebrated Halloween? They never got to go for trick or treating? They never binged on candy? Wow, Regina, that's the cruelest thing your curse could do! »

Regina winced. Hearing Emma talking about the curse always made her feel uneasy. She knew she was responsible for what Emma's life had been, a childhood without parents, without a home, a life without hope. A life very similar to her own, for different reasons, but in both cases it was because of her own decisions. They were in the forest, in the middle of a lesson, but Emma was not very into it that day.

«No, Miss Swan, » she sighed, «children of Storybrooke never got sick because of an orgy of candies, and they never complained about it either, because they have the healthiest mouths in this world, considering we don't have a dentist. »

The Sheriff stared at her as if she had a second head growing on her body. And for once, she kept silent. Regina finally found a way to shut Emma's mouth, and it was quite an uplifting view to see. She allowed herself a soft smile while Emma was getting her dignity back, closing her mouth as if nothing had happened

«I know what you're thinking, dear. You want to tell your mother right now they should organize Halloween in Storybrooke this year. I can see you're getting all excited at the idea. I'm sure you already know what costume you would wear, probably something allowing a duet with Henry. Let me tell you, if you manage to convince Mary Margaret and her council, if you find enough pumpkins to carve, and if our fellow citizens like the idea, I might even go with you to the party I'm sure your mother would be glad to throw for the occasion»

Regina stopped her preparation for the lesson and stood still, paralyzed by her own words. She's learnt to appreciate those lessons with Emma, especially because they took place in the forest and because she came to learn from them, too, as Archie had predicted, but in no way did they mean Emma and her were friends. They had just put their antagonism aside to join their forces. And because Henry asked her to. Without him, these little sessions wouldn't exist.

«Well, I guess I would go with you and Henry, to make sure his treasure's worth of candies won't ruin a lifetime of healthy teeth.»

Emma stared at Regina. She could so bite back at the Evil Queen right now, but she didn't feel like it; something was bothering her. It started a few days ago, an awkward feeling that someone was watching her, was watching Regina, and all her spider instincts were on alert.

«It sounds great, Regina. I'm sure Henry and all the kids will be thrilled with the idea. »

Her heart wasn't into it, and Regina noticed the frown on the blonde's face.

«What's wrong, Miss Swan? You look like someone walked on your grave. »

«I don't know, Madam ex-Mayor, but don't you feel something's changed in the air in Storybrooke? Like the atmosphere, the oxygen, has thickened? »

Regina looked at Emma, puzzled, and concentrated on their surroundings. Magic. Heavy magic was filling the air, how come she hadn't noticed?!

«It seems our lessons were successful, Emma! What you're feeling is magic. I suppose our lessons excited the already existing magic brought back, and the more people who practice, the more the air is feeding from it. »

«Yeah... but there's something else. »

She looked into the depths of the forest for a minute and shrugged.

«But let's go back to Halloween! I think we're done for today, right? »

She met Regina's interrogative brown eyes and the brunette smiled.

«Yes, we're finished for today, dear. »

xxxx

Storybrooke was gleaming with the colours of Halloween. Carved and non-carved pumpkins of different shapes and sizes were everywhere; on street corners, in shop-windows, in front of every house. The city vibrated with frantic energy, and it wasn't only because of the kids. Everybody welcomed the proposition, and everybody played the game. Oddly enough, most of Storybrooke's citizens chose to go as their fairy tale characters from this world's books, not as they actually were back in the Enchanted Forest. They seemed to like how softened their characters were, especially in the recent adaptations, where everybody got a happy ending.

Everybody except the villains, Regina thought bitterly.

That has always been her reality, no happy ending. But today was not about her, she'll not talk about it to Archie later in the week. No, today was about having Henry at her side, a fantastic smile highlighting his still boyish features. She was not the Evil Queen today, she was his mum, and Regina wanted nothing else .This maternal bliss, however, had to cope with the presence of the Sheriff, the blonde woman wearing the same kind of grin as her son.

The preparation of the festive day had kept the city busy the whole week, but Emma seemed worried all along. She wouldn't attend their magic lessons, and her car could be seen all over the town and the forest, as if she was looking for something... But today, Emma was radiant, matching her son's mood. She would not talk about their matching outfits, the only reason the Sheriff wanted this Halloween to happen, Regina thought. Mother and son were showing off in the streets of Storybrooke, like partners in crime, so proud of their idea: Henry as the blonde queen from a TV show he shouldn't be watching and Emma as the dwarf brother of said queen. Regina decided not to worry about this choice, because of the satisfied face on her son each time someone pointed at the impossible pairing.

The day had been a delight, an Autumn Festival as well as a Halloween day, better than the nuns' candle day, according to the rumours around the stalls. Granny made delicious pumpkin pies; the kids were chasing each other, comparing their loot; the evening was warm despite the season; and the citizens of Storybrooke looked like they enjoyed their day. Regina was sipping hot apple cider, enjoying the general atmosphere, when Henry came to her, running, his face covered with tears and fear.

«Henry! Henry, what's wrong? »

«Arch... It's Archie, Mom, he's just lying there, not breathing… There's so much blood! What's wrong with Archie? Is he... is he dead? »

And he burst into tears into Regina's arms.

xxxx

The creature that used to be Cora Mills looked at the young, crying boy running into his mother's arms. What was left of Cora's maternal love didn't win the battle in her damaged brain, but for a few seconds there, she felt something; she felt something for Regina, the object of her obsession. She felt something she couldn't handle anymore: not only was she heartless, but she also was no longer herself.

She'd been haunting Storybrooke since she followed - Who were they again? She was losing more and more ground in her mind every passing day - this blonde woman and the pixie brunette who escaped the Enchanted Forest. The portal was almost closed, but she took a chance and jumped after them. The magic that was re-opening the portal from Storybrooke was a different magic, though, and Cora was paying the price of it; she brought something back with her, something that was slowly taking her place, and she was losing the battle against it. Soon, Cora would disappear and the creature would take over, leaving a path of blood and destruction behind them.

The only thing Cora still had control of was her memories of her daughter, Regina. But these memories were corrupted by the mind of the creature, and Regina was now the subject of its obsession — a bloodthirsty obsession.

Cora didn't remember killing Archie; she didn't remember who he was, anyway. What she knew was that Regina talked with him about magic, and the creature wanted magic. It wanted Regina's magic to fulfill its destructive purpose. The creature used Cora's mind to understand this world. Coming from the void of the no man's land between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, it was from nowhere, thus, it needed a vessel to grow into existence and to understand the outside world.

The creature happened to be at the border of the portal just before it closed. A stroke of luck! It smelled life, fresh life that shouldn't have been there. It didn't hesitate and jumped on it, using its own powers and the weird magic that was emanating from it to channel the human form in the right direction. Its vessel should be thankful; without its intervention, she would have been lost to the void, a prey to all the dark creatures living there.

The creature had no form and no name; it just had a thirst, a thirst for blood and destruction, and enough conscience to take over the warm body it found on its way, this Cora, as it learnt her name in her mind.

At first, she didn't know it was there, because it needed to learn more of its vessel, of where they were going. It knew enough now to take over, and the feeling was delightful as the human proved to be a powerful witch. The creature had now developed enough human concepts and feelings to understand the irony of the situation: its own existence was the result of the use of magic. All the spells, all the deals, all the magic tricks which wands allowed left traces, pieces of magic garbage that ended in the void between worlds.

Cora was, in a sense, its mother, as she participated actively in the possibility of its existence. What a better way to thank her for its existence than to be given life thanks to her body and mind? If the creature had a sense of beauty and poetry, it would certainly stop and shed a few tears at the thought. But blood thirst was its only aesthetic, and Regina its only heroin.

xxxx

It was a bloodbath. Not only was Archie dead, but his last moments had been torture. Regina was more concerned about her son than Archie right now, because he was the one who discovered the body, and no child should be exposed to such butchery. No adult, either. Not even in her dark days as the Evil Queen had she ever killed with such barbarity.

Emma was already processing the crime scene, trying to be as professional as possible, but she couldn't help shedding a few tears when she saw Archie's corpse. It was as if all of his internal organs had wanted to escape his body, growing from within and making their own way out through his skin. His body was swollen, distorted and torn apart; blood was leaking from his ears, his eyes and nose, and from other parts, too, she realised as they moved the body. His face showed a horrible mask of pain. Whoever did that would be found and punished for that.

Emma turned to Regina, and she saw anger in her eyes. On her face she could read the wrath of a queen, and she knew the culprit would suffer if Regina was the first to find him. Emma knew she would have to deal with the Regina she didn't know, the Evil Queen of Henry's book. Thinking of Henry, she couldn't restrain her anger either. He had to witness this horror, and she felt an Evil Saviour growing inside her, the feeling expanding in her veins, boiling her blood into rage. Golden curls of smoke were emanating from her at this thought and she looked at Regina, confused.

"Your anger, dear. It's fuelling your magic. Here, let me." Regina came closer to Emma and took her hands in hers. Purple curls of smoke covered the golden ones, and Emma felt her heart quieting while the golden smoke slowly disappeared.

"Can you feel it?" Emma considered Regina a few seconds.

"Yes! The heavy magic, the same I felt in the woods. You told me it was our practicing that excited the existing magic. Is it different, now?"

"It's not our practicing, it's someone else's magic. Someone extremely powerful, who is dealing with darker magic than I've ever used myself. For what I know, even Rumplestilskin never took this path."

"Should we talk to him first?"

"Call him on the crime scene, he might know something. Not using a power doesn't mean he doesn't have knowledge of it."

Emma stared at Regina. The brunette looked concerned, and clouds of worry were darkening her chocolate brown eyes. This wasn't good, Emma thought. Rumple and Regina were supposed to be the only powerful people dealing with witchcraft in this world. Emma remembered the Enchanted Forest and the only other powerful witch she met there: Cora Mills, Regina's mother. But Emma and Mary Margaret left her behind when they escaped through the portal. Cora was stuck in the Enchanted Forest. Or was she?

The delightful evening had turned into a nightmare, and Storybrooke citizens went back to their homes traumatised. Archie was one of the nicest people in Storybrooke, if not the nicest of them all. His death was a shock for everyone, but it was the violence of it that startled people. And scared them. Doors in Storybrooke would be locked from now on, and fear and suspicion would grow among the population.

xxxx

Henry was resting on Mary Margaret's bed, deeply asleep, the kind of sleep only children are capable of, even after such a trauma. Sweaty strands of hair were sticking to his forehead. Regina gently put them back with a brush of her hand, light as a feather. If only she could erase the frown marking his features in his sleep as easily. The days to come would be difficult for him. What he saw was inhuman, and he always had a special relationship with Archie — a bond deepened even further after the curse had been broken.

They were waiting for , who wanted to be alone while scanning the place where Archie was attacked. Emma couldn't stay still, walking all over, nervous. David and Mary-Margaret were both at the station, taking care of the scared population: people were calling nonstop, reporting strange noises and suspicious movements in their houses or outside. They were afraid, and they couldn't be blamed for that.

Gold burst through the door calling for Regina.

«What have you done? » he yelled at her

«What have _I_ done, Gold? », she snorted, «You're the one who played with magic since the curse broke! You're the one who brought magic back! I didn't do anything! »

«What have you done at the well?! »

Emma had stopped pacing when Gold arrived, Regina joining her to listen to what he had to tell them. She turned to Regina, a question in the green of her eyes. Regina looked at her, puzzled.

«What do you think I have done? » she said to Gold. «I counterbalanced your spell, the one that shut the well down, and allowed Miss Swan and her mother to come back safely! If something was wrong in that, it certainly wasn't my fault! » Regina was outraged. How dare this man put the blame on her? Thinking on it now, sealing the well was his doing. All she had done was standing beside him while he was casting his spell, and he then fled the scene and left her there. She rushed to Gold, ready to hit him when she felt a hand holding her arm.

«Regina. » Emma said gently, then turned to Gold. «We'll look for who's to blame later. Gold, tell us what you know.»

Startled by the blonde's interruption, Gold looked at both women, Emma still holding Regina, and calmed down.

«Whether one of us did it or not, it seems that Emma and her mother are not the only ones who came back from the Enchanted Forest. Or from somewhere else. »

«What do you mean from somewhere else? » Emma asked.

«When Regina absorbed the spell –»

«Your spell, » Regina interrupted

«When Regina absorbed _my_ spell, » Gold corrected, looking at Regina with insistence, "it seems a different kind of magic came in competition with my own, struggling with it and allowing the void to open."

Regina stared at Gold, frightened. «The void? You mean …»

«Yes, Regina, this no man's land no witch or wizard ever wants to talk about. »

xxxx

The city woke up to silent streets and slow activity. Still under the shock of Archie's death, the population of Storybrooke acted like living zombies, accomplishing their everyday tasks because this routine was reassuring to them, but jumpy and always throwing an eye at their backs, fearing for anything to happen at any time.

Emma had reinforced her patrolling, helped by her father and Ruby, the brunette set on any scent she could recognize from the crime scene.

«Emma, there is something wrong. I cannot identify any scent other than Archie's or all of yours, but at the same time, I can sense someone else was there — not because of their scent, but because of their lack of one. »

They were at the station, organising the search.

«What do you mean a lack of scent? »

«There are places on the crime scene that are scentless. As if they were wiped away, or as though someone with no scent had stood there. I know it's nonsense, everybody leaves traces, and my senses were not weakened by my human form — I turned, to be thorough in the research. »

Ruby's eyes shifted away from Emma's gaze, like they did every time she was talking about her... powers. Emma smiled softly to her friend.

«That's a good lead, Rubes. Could you follow it? I mean, could you track a 'lack of scent' that could lead us to someone, or something? »

«I've tried, but it was very difficult. I couldn't go further than the well in the woods. »

«The well? »

«Yes. And I can't tell if the tracks came from the well or to the well. But this is where I found the most of the non-scent. »

«Thank you, Rubes. It might be nonsense, but added to what Gold told us, we might have something there! Did you noticed anything else while at the well? »

«I found this. »

Ruby took a little piece of material out of her pocket. It looked like a ripped piece of cloth, a richly embroidered blue rag. Emma's eyes widened in surprise, and fear. This looked exactly like what Cora was wearing at the dry lake back in the Enchanted Forest.

xxxx

Cora was completely gone. She had lost the battle, and the creature was now ready to reach for what it had wanted so badly since it felt it for the first time: Regina's magic. It was not driven by blood-thirst anymore, it just wanted more magic to feed on. Coupled with Cora's former obsession with her daughter, the creature's obsession was even more dangerous, and it was becoming unpredictable. While still in control, Cora, before giving up, had been managing to restrain the creature — holding on to enough information for it to need her for survival in this world. She had known it was only a matter of time before she would lose, but she had tried her best to delay the inevitable, hoping Regina would find her before the creature could take over. But the creature was clever enough to understand that Cora had to remain hidden, and in spite of all her efforts, Cora never got to bring its existence to light to let Regina know of the danger. Now the time had come. The creature was ready.


	2. Chapter 2

«What do you mean my mother is here?! »

Regina was frantic. Her whole body was shaking, she couldn't stand. She leaned on Emma to get her balance back and almost collapsed in her arms. Emma helped her onto one of her office chairs. She had called Regina as soon as Ruby showed her the blue rag. Regina drove like a maniac when she heard the news; it was a miracle she didn't hit someone on her way to the station.

«Regina, » Emma held the piece of cloth in front of the former queen. «This comes from the gown Cora was wearing when Mary Margaret and I fought her and Hook to come back to Storybrooke. Right before we jumped into the portal.»

«No, no that's not possible… She didn't get out of the well with you or after you, she wouldn't… Emma, if she followed you from the Enchanted Forest but was not with you when you came back, that means... » Regina stopped talking, her mouth dry and a heavy weight growing in her stomach. «That means she came through the void. »

«But what's so awful about this void? You and Rumple seem completely nuts about it! What is it?» Emma burst out hastily.

«It's the price of magic, » Regina said quietly. Her face was blank and pale. She didn't shake anymore, but her knuckles were turning white as she slowly clenched her fists.

«The void is the result of all the acts of magic in all the magical realms. It's like a garbage can where all the magic remnants end up. And it's alive, full of ethereal living creatures, monsters, all created because of magic. »

«What does this have to do with Cora? She's quite the monster, but she's very flesh and blood and –»

«If she didn't come back with you that means she jumped in the portal too late. There's usually no way of surviving a late jump. We know nothing about the creatures living in the void, except that they need a vessel to exit. »

The bright green of Emma's eyes suddenly darkened at the realisation of what Regina was implying. She knew enough of magic now to understand what a vessel was. That meant Cora was not herself anymore, and that a creature not of their world had come to Storybrooke. That meant they were in danger. And she remembered feeling as if Regina was being spied on, when the air was so thick even she could feel it. It was Cora.

«Emma, there's no time to lose. If the creature took control of my mother, it has access to all her powers. Coupled with its own skills, it's a deadly threat for all of us. »

«I think_ you_ are in danger, Regina. »

«But I'm not the one my son found dead in a bath of blood!" Regina jumped out of the chair, coming so close to Emma she could feel her warm breath on her lips. "The whole town is in danger! Henry is in danger! I won't let anything happen to him, even if –»

«Even if you have to kill your own mother, » Emma finished softly.

Regina leaned her forehead on Emma's and whispered so low that Emma wasn't sure she heard it well:

« I already killed her once. »

xxxx

"I… I was different when it happened. I was… angry and had only one goal, my revenge over Snow. I _was_ evil, Emma."

They were back on their seats, facing each other. Emma was holding Regina's hands on her lap, in a comforting gesture. The older woman wasn't looking at her, her breath still a bit short from the wave of emotions that overwhelmed her a moment earlier when they were talking about Cora. Emma didn't know the details, but she knew Regina didn't have a healthy relationship with her mother; she had hints from Mary Margaret. Regina, herself, never spoke of Cora.

"She killed my first love, Daniel, in front of me, and I blamed Snow for it."

Emma gaped at her, the enormity of the revelation hitting her like a truck at full speed. Mary Margaret never told her anything about a murder! She had only known Cora forced Regina to marry a man she didn't want; that she was this abusive authoritarian of a woman whom the young Snow was scared of; and that some time before her daughter's wedding, to the relief of everybody, she had disappeared, even though this move was not quite understandable, since they all knew how much she wanted the union.

"So all these years you went after my mother... all this bloodthirsty revenge that led to the Dark Curse... was in fact because of Cora, and not my mother?!"

Regina heard the accusation behind Emma's words : she ruined her life for the wrong reason; she directed her wrath, her frustration, her anger on Snow, resulting in the wreckage of her family, in her being forced into the life of a rejected orphan.

"It's a bit more complicated, dear-"

"Don't 'dear' me, Regina!" Emma was furious. She let go of Regina's hand and started pacing the room, shaking her head. "All of this, all these lives ruined by your curse, all this mess, because of Cora. It was never my mother, Regina! " She was yelling now, all she knew, all she could have understood was collapsing under this confession.

Regina was still in the chair, not moving, not saying anything, and Emma was struck by this unresponsive Regina.

"So, what, Madam Mayor?No fireballs to make me shut the fuck up? No vine restraints to pin me on the wall and show off your power?!"

"I merely asked her to never tell my mother about Daniel... It was a secret. A swear-on-your-life secret."Regina's voice was a whisper, low and blank, emotionless.

"She was a child, Regina!"

Regina jumped out of her chair and violently grabbed Emma's shoulders "I was a child, too! She robbed me of my happiness, of my true love! He died because of her — my mother was just the executioner!But Snow allowed this to happen. I told her, I told her…" Regina let go of Emma, all her anger leaving her as suddenly as it came. She bent her head and started crying, standing in the middle of the sheriff's station.

Emma was caught by surprise. She was prepared for an ugly fight with Regina, ready to get all of it out of her system. But this — this she wasn't prepared for. She was still angry, her world still about to collapse, but a crying Regina in the middle of her office was more than she could bear. This was not what shesigned up for. Storybrooke, the Enchanted Forest, magic, her parents, Archie's death… it was all too much.

It was then that the creature decided to make its first appearance. A burgundy smoke filled the space between Emma and Regina, and there it was, in all its glory, ready to make what it considered to be its first move (the death of Archie was already forgotten;the only thing it craved for was Regina).

The creature looked like Cora, had her features and wore her clothes, but looking into its eyes was horrific. It wasn't Cora, and the empty two brown eyes proved it well. There was nothing in these eyes. They were not a window to the soul, because there was no longer a soul to reflect. All Emma could see was cruelty, insanity and coldness. Ice-floe coldness coupled with a millennium of existence in a magical no man's land. This eye-to-eye didn't last more than two seconds before the creature turned to Regina and grabbed her by the arm, ready to disappear in a curl of smoke.

Except when the creature looked into Regina's eyes, it froze. The most horrible scream tore from its throat — a scream of pain, a scream of fear, a scream of anger, a scream that struggled for a way to express one of the most powerful weapons in all the realms: maternal instinct. Somehow, there was still something of Cora in the creature. It underestimated her love for her daughter, mistaking the feeling for its own sick obsession for Regina's magic, never bothering to try to understand the emotion. When Cora lost the battle, her mind was absorbed in the soulless damp of the creature's mind. Her magic helped her remain conscious enough to read this sick maelstrom, and what she saw there was enough to make her cling to life. She couldn't regain possession of her body and mind, but she could cling there, a little spark of human nature well-educated in magic.She didn't know if she would be able to do anything once the creature found Regina, but she knew she had to do everything possible to hold it — to kill it, even.

Regina looked at the creature with distress, her eyes still teary from her previous emotional burst.

"Mother?" She had the smallest voice, hoarse and weak.

"Regina! Regina look at me! This is not your mother, look into its eyes!"

xxxx

Silence had fallen on Storybrooke.

The city was covered with snow. The sounds were muted by the soft, white blanket covering the streets and roofs. The forest around the city eventually looked like the setting of a fairytale, as they are described in books - the kind of scene Emma would have envisioned when she still thought they were only stories.

Regina was resting in her crypt, and Emma didn't know what to do, what to say to her son. The crypt was sealed so that nobody would disturb the woman.

When she had to explain what happened, she was unable to find the words. Crippled by the toxic touch of Cora - no, of the creature – she had had to fight with a horrible pain running through her veins. Whatever the creature had done to her at that moment had made her feel like her blood was boiling water, pumped from her heart to every single cell of her body. Her pain was unbearable, but it was nothing compared to what Regina was going through.

At first, time stopped. The creature was frozen, a living statue. Regina was still paralyzed by the apparition of her mother. Even though she knew it was not really her, she'd been struggling for such a long time with her feelings toward her mother. Seeing Cora in front of her so suddenly brought back a wave of contradictory thoughts and feelings.

And then she saw her eyes.

Rumplestilskin had taught her about the void and the creatures haunting the place. She was familiar with coldness, she had been the Evil Queen! But all her former mentor told her paled before this horrifying reality. She knew her weak whisper of "Mother?" wouldn't reach Cora.

"Emma," she said in a short breath, "You should leave. Get Henry, go to a safe place. I don't want you to be hurt. He'll need you when this is over."

"I'm not leaving you, Regina." She narrowed her eyes, her dark green gaze daring the brunette to argue. Regina returned the look, but she knew those eyes - that was a stubborn and determined don't-bullshit-me gaze, and Regina knew better than to try to fight Emma when she wore that face. Plus, they didn't have time for arguing. She could feel the grip on her arm intensifying; whatever kept the creature still was weakening.

She looked into its eyes again, and there she was! Her mother!

"Re…gi…na… My pre…cious daughter…"

"Mother! Mother, are you still there?!"

This was unprecedented. Once a vessel, the conscience of the person being used was supposed to disappear to leave space for the creature. That was what Rumplestilskin had taught her. But did he ever personally witness such a possession? This was magic not of this world, non-human magic, a magic that nobody had ever used or learnt.

"It wants your… your magic, Regina. Do… do not use your magic or it will … it will destroy you."

"Mother, tell me how to help you!"

Cora gave her daughter a last desperate look, one the heartless woman never before let her eyes express. Regina realised for the first time her mother loved her more than anything, even if her love was sick and done in the wrong way, and she understood in a second what Cora was going to do. She was a powerful witch, and she had learned from Rumplestiltskin, but that was not all. She had spent years studying magic from other realms, gathering knowledge from portal jumpers. She had power inside herself of which the creature had no idea. She was saving this power for this exact moment.

"Mother, no!" Regina tried to pull free from the strong hand that was still holding her. Emma rushed to help her, but the creature grabbed her with its free arm, forcing a tremendous wave of energy across her body. The blast knocked her out, and she fell on the ground.

"Emma! EMMA!" Regina was still fighting to get free. She knew what she had to do. She turned her free hand up, preparing a ball of fire to strike at the creature. She didn't want to hurt Cora, but the older woman was no longer there. She was a conscience clinging to life because of magic, and she was about to use it. Regina had to stop her.

She looked her mother right in the eyes, for their last encounter shouldn't be about hate or revenge, and she whispered, "I love you, Mother."

xxxx

An unbearable pain running through her entire body made Emma jerk out of unconsciousness. She gasped for air as she could feel every cell, every nerve, burning.

Regina had a fireball ready in her hand. Tears were leaving dark traces of makeup on her cheeks, but her look was determined.

"I love you, Mother."

Emma understood the situation in an instant and jumped on her feet. She caught Regina from behind, catching the brunette by surprise. The fireball died in her hand while Emma pushed her aside, placing herself between her and the creature.

"Don't use your magic, Regina! You heard Cora!"

"She's going to turn into a magical bomb, Emma! Like a nuclear bomb, except she will explode from inside! I have to help her. I have to try to save her!"

"You... you can't save me, dear." The voice was shaking, but it was Cora talking. "I have to do it myself. I can't lose my hold on this creature. It will get your magic, Regina, it's very powerful. And cruel. Much more than I've ever been."

"I won't let that happen, Mother."

And before Emma could stop her, Regina ripped her own heart out and shoved it into her mother's chest.

Time stopped for a moment - Regina's arm in Cora's chest, Emma standing in the middle, fighting the fire running through her veins.

"No! NO!" The scream came from the creature, but the voice was Cora's. Both of them hadn't had a heart for a long time - Cora, because she removed it many years ago, the creature, because it never had one to begin with. And for both, the sensation of this living, beating heart was a shock.

The creature panicked, overwhelmed by new feelings. No… not new feelings, just feelings. It tried to take away Regina's arm, still stuck in Cora's chest, but Regina was strong and determined to succeed. She was radiating magic, a bright energy emanating from her while purple curls of smoke wound around Cora's body.

As for Cora, she couldn't stop crying, a wave of joy filling the pure abstract conscience she had become.

"Regina. Regina!" A bright smile was illuminating her features, and Regina's expression mirrored that of her mother's. She had never seen this kind of love in Cora's eyes, and for a minute, this love was all that mattered. For the first time in their lives the two women were merely mother and daughter, with no hidden agenda, no hurt, no power were just Cora and Regina, bonded by the deepest kind of love.

The former queen was shaking now, her stare locked onto her mother's eyes. Emma, her moves slowed down by the pain, came to her. She put an arm around Regina's waist, hypnotised by the bliss she could see on the brunette's face. She had never seen this glow in Regina's eyes - except, perhaps, when she was looking at Henry, when she thought no one else was watching. But Emma realized how soon they would darken, for Regina knew Henry wouldn't give her a loving look back any more.

"Regina, my sweet child, let me go. Please."

Cora was not asking for mercy. Regina knew it, but she couldn't let her mother go.

"Mother, there must be a way. We can ask Rumplestiltskin for help. He knows things he never shared with the rest of us. By combining our magic, we could-"

"Please." Cora's voice was soft. Never in her life had she been so sincere and genuine.

"I know, Mother, I know. I just…" Regina leaned on Emma, exhausted. She felt the pain running through the blonde's body. "Mother, what did the creature do to Emma?"

"Nothing that her magic can't fix. You have magic, don't you, Miss Swan?"

Emma was startled by Cora's question. At this point, she thought Cora wasn't even aware she was there.

"I do. Regina teaches me-"

"Of course she does," Cora said in a husky laugh. "Once the creature is … has disappeared, its magic will vanish. All you'll have to do to relieve your pain is use a simple curing spell. Now, Regina…"

Regina looked at her mother. She was ready. With a delicate and soft flick of her wrist, she took her hand off her mother's chest and gazed at her beating heart as if she didn't recognize it.

"Put it back. You need it," Cora smiled. "I won't be able to hold it for much longer- the creature is not panicked any more, and it's pulling itself together. You should go."

"I won't leave you, Mother!"

Regina had her heart back, but she felt empty inside. Emma was still holding her, and she didn't bother moving away.

Cora stepped away and braced herself, closing her eyes. The air thickened around her, and all the energy seemed to be drawn to her. Her body began to shake, more and more violently. She fell on the floor. She was still conscious, but oblivious to her surroundings.

Waves of energy were visible around her, and Cora was absorbing this energy. She stopped shaking and curled into a ball. And it began- when the creature tried to leave Cora's body.

xxxx

The ethereal creature had changed during its possession of Cora. Within that time, it had acquired an organic form that was strange and unfamiliar to its conscience.

Before it first came into Cora's body, it only had to concentrate for its light, gas-like form to invade the sorceress. It was its first possession. A millennium of existence gave it coldness and anger, but not much in the way of knowledge. Creatures from the void had no teachers; they did not communicate with one another. They only fought against one another, to pass the time. They were not really aware of what they were. They were alive, in a dark place of suffering and violence, never questioning their existence, feeding on the occasional living creature of flesh and bone that became lost in the void. They lived in the moment, for they had no concept of time - no past and no future.

Now, for the first time, the creature felt the beat of a heart pumping blood and oxygen, as well as warmth. It felt organic life intruding its very being. This was unknown. And uncomfortable. But the living heart was still here. It couldn't do anything to get rid of it, because it gave oh so much strength to its vessel. The human shouldn't be there anymore, she lost the battle when the creature took over, but there she was, stronger than ever. She had tricked it.

And something was wrong. The heart was gone, but –

Energy.

Power.

Magic.

Its vessel was reclaiming her body! Just for a second, the creature managed to peer through Cora's eyes, and it saw Regina. It felt her magic vibrating, and it was still yearning for it, but it was neither a creature of braveness nor courage - it knew only darkness and time had come for it to leave this body that betrayed it. It concentrated on leaving, just as it had concentrated on entering the body when it first came across the human in the void.


	3. Chapter 3

Cora opened her eyes, interrupting the gathering of energy. Her body went into spasms she couldn't control. A rusty groan came out of her throat. The groan became a scream, and suddenly she vomited dark purple organic matter. She couldn't stop the flow of matter spilling from her throat. It became more and more solid. Cora was now on her knees to ease the flow. The dark matter was now mixed with blood and bits of … flesh?

Regina ran to her mother, but Emma grabbed her wrist with what was left of her strength and stopped her.

"Do not touch me! Let me go! Something's wrong, I have to help her!"

"Regina." Emma's voice was just a whisper, but there was no weakness in her tone. "You can't do anything. I think the creature is trying to escape your mother's body."

"And that's supposed to stop me?"

"No. But you don't know what this creature can do outside a vessel. Look at what it's done to me through Cora's body. This… blob could explode or whatever, and for what we know, it could be toxic and poisonous. Do you want to take the risk?"

Regina looked at her mother. The flow was slowing. Regina sighed heavily.

"I can't stand here doing nothing and watching my mother suffer like that!"

"She was ready to go, Regina."

"But this was not –"

A primal sound came from Cora's direction and interrupted the two women. This was not Cora's voice, though. The sound didn't come from her, but from the organic mass on the ground.

The creature had left Cora entirely and discovered with horror what had happened to itself. It had a physical form! Its vessel must have corrupted it - what else could be the cause of this? The wicked bitch! The creature couldn't move, lying on the floor like a giant jellyfish. It thought about flying, or crawling or whatever else, but it remained still, unable to move, a useless larva. Was that blood it smelled? It wasn't Cora's. Well, it was, but not entirely. There was a new smell mixed with Cora's scent, a newly created smell, like… like a newborn! The creature born from magical leftovers was now reborn in blood and flesh! It screamed at the realisation. At least… it tried to. The scream came from all of its body, vibrating in its cells, resulting in the primal and quite inhuman sound Emma and Regina heard.

Cora was recovering from her release; it was a relief and a suffering at the same time. The creature had left its toxic trail when leaving. The older woman was coughing, her body weakened but still surrounded by the energy she had called earlier.

She looked at the bloody mass at her knees. This was what caused so much pain? It looked like those grotesque organs she saw in the jars lined in the lab she let Frankenstein keep back in the Enchanted Forest. It was such a long time ago. Another time, another life.

She could feel the poison of the creature speeding through her veins. She had to be quick, for she didn't have much time left. As long as it stayed in this form, the creature would no longer be a threat, but it would soon understand that its new organic body had other powers: growing, developing a shape, becoming its own vessel. She had to stop it before it came to this realisation.

Before she died.

She turned to Regina. Emma was still holding her wrist. She could see the anxiety in her daughter's eyes. She could also see her fear. Cora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The energy she had gathered earlier vibrated again, creating little sparks at the tips of her fingers.

"Regina."

"Yes, Mother?"

"This won't be long now." Cora was crying, letting a flow of tears cover her face.

"I know, Mother." Regina's voice was breaking. She was sobbing, but she never let her eyes stray from her mother.

She could feel the waves of energy rolling around Cora. She herself was creating them as well, fueled by her own magic. She unconsciously tapped into Emma's magic to do so, but the blonde didn't say anything, aware of what was happening. Her magic was all that Emma could offer right now. Her body was too weak, her pain was too strong; she couldn't have fought otherwise.

"I want you to protect the area, Regina. I know the spell, but I never used it. I can't cast it and protect you at the same time. And now that the creature is out of my body, I don't know how it will react. It might explode before I've finished or counterattack one way or another."

"I'm going to put you in a magical dome. I'm strong enough to hold it until you... until it's over."

"I know you are," Cora said with a smile. "Now… I guess this is goodbye. Oh, Regina... there is so much to say. When I jumped in that portal after Emma and Snow White, I was determined to get you back to me, no matter how..."

"Let's not talk about it, Mother. Please. You've got me, here and now. We'll never know what you would have done, what I would have done."

The two women looked at each other for the last time and smiled through their tears.

"Goodbye, Mother."

"Goodbye, my sweet child."

Regina then placed herself in front of Emma.

"I want you to hold me, Emma. I know you're in pain, but I will need your magic."

"You're already using it, Madam Mayor."

Regina turned to Emma, surprised. She saw a weak smile on the blonde's face and realised she was indeed tapping into her magic.

"I'm... I'm sorry. Will you be strong enough to hold it until we're finished?"

"It's excruciating, Regina, but do we have a choice?"

She was not talking about her own physical pain, and Regina knew it.

"No, we don't."

Emma grabbed Regina's hips while the brunette stretched out her arms to cast the protection spell, or rather — to create a magical cage to isolate her mother and the creature.

xxxx

The crypt sheltered both her parents now.

One whom Regina sacrificed to cast the curse that would bring her the happy ending she craved – the other, one who sacrificed herself while heartless to let Regina live out this happy ending.

Regina wanted to be alone. Her last moments with Cora were carved in her retinas, and she was afraid her son could see in her eyes what she had to witness.

Once Regina and Emma had finished securing the area with a magical shield, Cora was able to cast the spell. What Regina didn't know was that it was one of the ugliest spells ever known, one of the messiest, one she would never forget, and one she hoped no one would have to cast aver again.

At first, when she was still the vessel of the vile creature, Cora wanted to make herself implode. But once it was out, things were different. Its organic form was toxic, and trying to simply destroy it with fire balls would have been like setting off an atomic bomb. It had to be destroyed from the inside, and there was only one way to do it : Cora had to merge with the creature, possess it as it had possessed herself; this time, the creature would become the vessel.

Cora drew from all the energies at her disposal – that of elements and electricity (Storybrooke wound up losing its power for a week), as well as the physical power of those around her – counting on the strength of her daughter to help her finish the spell.

The creature fought back, its larva form stronger than it looked; it was quickly learning it could evolve on its own. Cora wouldn't let it know further stages of evolution. She threw herself inside the gelatinous mass. A shockwave shook the shield, but it stayed strong – Regina was making sure of it.

A sudden sound, however, broke all of the glass within an area of several kilometers. Dark magic colliding with a creature from the void was so unnatural, so unprecedented, that the land was not prepared for such a shock and had no way of expressing it – especially not in a world like this, a world without magic.

But the truth was, this place did have a power of its own: a magic buried so deeply that the world had forgotten it had ever existed. This impossible encounter was waking up very old energies, powers forgotten for centuries, and the veil between worlds began to tear.

The shield resisted. Not Cora.

Once inside the creature, she intended to annihilate it by burning it to death, reducing it, and herself, into ashes. She didn't know she would wake up ancient powers, powers that didn't want to be awoken.

Emma had read the Mists of Avalon; the stories about the power of the Goddess and her priestesses had made her smile. It was good entertainment, but she was living too rough a reality to find comfort in the belief of higher powers. Since she arrived in Storybrooke, though, her beliefs had been shaken. She was now aware of a different world, one of magic. However, what she had not realized was that her own realm was once, in its own way, the same. Cora's spell had awoken powers that only Wiccans and druids and a few else still believed in: the powers of Mother Nature.

Cora had disappeared in the creature, taking it over quickly. It had struggled, but it was just a newborn, after all, and it couldn't do anything against its mother. And Cora couldn't do anything against Mother Nature.

All of the powers became concentrated under the protective dome. The soil split open, burying the larva form of the creature. Within the barrier, the earth shook and the floor collapsed, cratering the space.

And for a minute, nothing happened.

Emma and Regina were still maintaining the shield when a projectile burst out and went crashing against its wall.

Then, everything was silent. The air had stopped vibrating, the energies were at peace, and Mother Nature had gone back to sleep.

"Mother!"

It was Cora's body lying crumpled at the base of the dome. Regina broke her link with Emma, causing the shield to disappear, and ran to her mother.

Emma already knew Cora had not survived; her body went painless the second the earth had given her back. She saw Regina take the lifeless body in her arms. She was crying silently, holding tightly to the distorted body of her mother.

Distorted.

Swollen.

Cut.

Crushed.

Clearly, Cora had suffered, her body living proof of the fight. Regina looked at Emma, despair in her eyes. Emma rushed to her side, her body now free of pain, and held Regina in her arms.

The woman once feared as the fierce Evil Queen was nothing more than a little girl in Emma's arms. She had lost her mother, and the reality of it was just falling on her.

xxxx

_Nothingness._

_Darkness._

_It was back into the void. No more Cora, no more body. Only the silence and the ferocity of the void._

_The emptiness._

_And the creature felt a tear rolling on a face it didn't possess anymore but could still feel._

_He felt, he had a heart, he was a new born, and he had an existence that made a he of itself._

_He knew nothing would be the same again. His life in the void would be a curse and a burden from now on, and forever._

xxxx

Emma couldn't tell the whole story when asked what happened. They wouldn't understand and some were already blaming Regina for Archie's death, the monstrosity was after her and it was her mother after all.

Emma knew there was no use of trying to explain what they saw, what Regina had to do. For the first time she realised the former Evil Queen was still considered as the Evil Queen by most of Storybrooke inhabitants. No matter what she would do, she is still the monster.

And Emma never understood that for she only knew Regina, the Evil Queen was only pictures in a book, a story. And which Evil Queen would cry in the arms of her enemy? Emma couldn't stop thinking of Regina holding her mother and the urge to go to her when she saw how lost she seemed in this instant.

She knew this look though. She had the same for years. She wouldn't admit it, she dismissed the idea numerous times now she had Mary Margaret and David, but the fact is, she is an orphan, it's how she grew up, it's part of her. This is what she saw in Regina's eyes, that now she was an orphan as well. Although she'd lost – killed – her mother years ago now, Regina never thought of herself as an orphan. Until this precise moment in the middle of the battle field.

How could she explain that to a population who see the world in black and white? She, for herself, had always swum in the greyer areas of life, in the real world, not a fairytale one. As real as the Enchanted Forest was for Storybrooke inhabitants, it was a world of good and evil, with nothing in between, even when the good used evil to get things done, they were still the good guys. Will she ever ask her mother one day what she had to do to get her kingdom back and rule it ? Mary Margaret would dismiss the conversation as quickly as she could…

Curls of purple smoke interrupted Emma's trail of thoughts.

"Regina, you're back ! Are you.. Is there… Can I – "

"Spare me the puppy eyes Miss Swan." There was a smile in Regina's tone that Emma didn't miss.

"Pardon me Madam Mayor for feeling concerned. You were away for days and… and Storybrooke didn't miss you, see it's still standing, I think Leroy is having his usual sober up at the station"

"Of course they didn't miss me, I'm not the Mayor anymore, Miss Swan, I trust your mother to get things back to normal. What are you doing in my house ?"

Emma stayed at the mansion when Regina locked herself in her crypt. She thought Henry would rather be in his room, in his house waiting for his mom to return. Plus it was a good excuse for her to have a break from her parents. They were the only ones in Storybrooke who wanted details, and it was not her story to tell.

"Mom ! Mom is that you ?!"

Henry had heard voices and rushed down from his room to see his mother.

"Mom are you okay?"

He ran into her arms and held her tight. Regina was not prepared to such a reaction and for a second she didn't know what to do. She gave a quick look at Emma who gave her the puppy face, she rolled her eyes and embraced her son as strongly as he held her, inhaling deeply the scent of her little prince.

After a moment, she let him go or rather, he let her go.

"I'm okay, Henry. I… I had to say goodbye properly to my mother but now I'm here." She smiled softly. "But what about you, Henry? Archie and you were close…"

"I will miss him a lot, Mom. But, the… the thing that did it, you stopped it, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"And it was your mother?"

"No Henry, it was not my mother, not exactly".

She wondered what the two idiots told him.

"What do you know exactly, Henry?"

"Hum, Regina?"

"Yes Miss Swan?"

"I think it's better if we keep this story for another time, right kid? Your Mom will tell you what happened, later. Why don't you go back upstairs and try to break my score?"

"Easy! This race is not even difficult Ma !" He gave a last look at Regina, and ran to his room.

"Ma?" Regina arched an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

"The kid and I spent some time together and… well I guess it was time… He missed you, Regina"

"And I him. Listen Miss Swan – "

"Emma. You were calling Emma before this"

"Emma" Regina was nervous, her eyes were drifting away. "What we must learn from what happened is that we have to give you more magic lessons."

"What ?! It's all that we learnt? What about your mother? Don't you want to talk about that instead?"

"No, Miss Swan. We have to give you more lessons because this… incident proves Storybrooke is in danger. It is now a place of magic, and it will attract people, the wrong people from the wrong places; It's not safe anymore."

"You don't have to do that you know."

"Do what, Miss Swan"

"Emma. You know what I mean."

"No, I don't, _Emma_."

There was something in Regina's eyes that made Emma stop. The woman was wounded, deeply, and right at this moment, Emma knew better than insisting. She tried to let her sorrow in the crypt, but Emma could see it in a flick of the brunette's eyelids, and the purse of her lips.

"Right then Madam Mayor, let's toughen up this magic of mine! But can we wait until tomorrow? The kid hasn't seen you in days. Why don't you use this magic of yours and make us…hum… him some lasagnas? I'll go back to the station now you're back, and I'll check upon you later, what do you think?"

Emma grabbed her jacket and went to the door, her hand already on the knob.

"Emma?"

She turned around in a flick of blonde curls.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Emma smiled this bright shining smile of hers. Tomorrow they would talk. Tomorrow they would plan how to protect Storybrooke, how to protect Henry, but tonight Regina would have a quiet night with her son, something she didn't think she would get back. Because tonight, Emma knew monsters existed, and there were not former Evil Queens nor plotting mayors. Monsters were heartless lonely creatures, something Regina was not anymore.

"You're welcome!"


End file.
